A grand jury has indicted an unknown man who authorities say is linked by DNA to six rapes in northeast Ohio in 1993 and 1994.

A DNA Cold Case Task Force hopes to identify the man referred to by Cuyahoga County prosecutors as John "Countdown" Doe and bring him to justice, The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland reported.

The DNA profile that led to Friday's indictment came from evidence collected from victims and crime scenes and is among more than 4,000 rape kits Cleveland police are sending to a state lab for testing.

Multiple victims described their attacker as having paint splatter on his pants, and two victims told police that the man apologized to them before fleeing after raping them. Victims who were able to give descriptions said he was a black male between the ages of 30-35 with a mustache and beard. He apologized to two victims before fleeing after raping them, authorities said.

The first rape connected to the unknown suspect was reported in November 1993 by a 15-year-old girl who said a man grabbed her around the neck while she was walking, took her to a backyard and told her he would kill her if she screamed or tried to run.

Another 15-year-old girl reported being raped in the same area the next month, saying her attacker covered her face with a knit cap.

A 43-year-old woman reported in February 1994 that her attacker grabbed her as she was walking from a bus stop to work, and a 12-year-old girl walking to school in May 1994 reported she was held at knifepoint.

Similar rapes were reported in 1994 by an 18-year-old who said she was raped at a park playground and threatened with a knife and a 16-year-old who said she was grabbed while walking home from a friend's house by a man who said he had a gun.